Gov. Jerry Brown, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and other top elected officials in California acknowledge using personal email accounts to conduct government business, and it’s not clear if their private exchanges are retained as public records or subject to disclosure.

Gov. Brown’s plan to curb the long-ignored debt for state worker retiree health care, now much larger than their unfunded pension debt, may look familiar. It’s similar to the standard state and local government pension reform.

Gov. Jerry Brown’s two newest appointees to the California Supreme Court provided enough votes Wednesday for reconsideration of a death penalty case, the first example of the impact Brown is having on the state’s highest court.

Something that rarely happens in California could result from Gov. Brown’s proposal to contain growing state worker retiree health care costs — benefits received by current government retirees might be reduced.

In this Thursday, Oct. 25, 2012 file photo, Michael Peevey, the president of the California Public Utilities Commission, listens to a speaker at Irvine City Hall in Irvine, Calif. (Mark Rightmire/AP)

By David Siders dsiders@sacbee.com 02/10/2015 3:14 PM

Amid the ongoing drip of revelations into back channel communications between Pacific Gas and Electric Co. and the California Public Utilities Commission, Brown administration officials and other political heavyweights are sponsoring a tribute dinner for Michael Peevey, the embattled former president of the PUC.

Councilmen from San Jacinto and Murrieta are among those seeking to fill a vacancy on the Riverside County Board of Supervisors as the wait continues for Gov. Jerry Brown to appoint a replacement for Jeff Stone.

SAN FRANCISCO – Even as it was reported that state investigators seized computers and other items from Michael Peevey’s home, Gov. Jerry Brown on Thursday offered only praise for the former president of the California Public Utilities Commission.

The financial crisis has passed and the economy is rebounding, but the fight over taxes is about to resume between Governor Jerry Brown and members of the California legislature. (Max Whittaker/Getty Images)

Juliet Williams | AP January 25, 09:16 AM

Gov. Jerry Brown orchestrated the successful push for temporary sales and income taxes on Californians three years ago to help ease the state out of recession and close a multibillion-dollar budget gap.

Gov. Jerry Brown, right, gestures while speaking out against tuition increases as Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, left, listens during a November meeting of the University of California Board of Regents in San Francisco. (Eric Risberg/ The Associated Press)

By David Siders and Alexei Koseff dsiders@sacbee.com 01/21/2015 11:46 PM

University of California President Janet Napolitano could hardly have been more dismissive when Gov. Jerry Brown proposed in November that, instead of threatening to raise tuition, UC create a commission to find ways to reduce costs.

On the day justices Mariano-Florentino Cuellar and Leondra R. Kruger were sworn in this month, the California Supreme Court issued a 4-3 ruling leaving in place a death sentence for a man with a long criminal record.

Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor looks through his office’s report on the state fiscal outlook last year. His review of Gov. Jerry Brown’s 2015-16 budget says there could be $2 billion more in revenue than the governor estimates. (Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press – file)

By David Siders and Jim Miller

dsiders@sacbee.com 01/14/2015 7:50 AM

The Legislature’s nonpartisan fiscal analyst on Tuesday called Gov. Jerry Brown’s new budget a “prudent” spending plan, while noting that the proposal might underestimate state revenue by up to billions of dollars through June.

Gov. Brown wants state workers to begin paying half the cost of their future retiree health care — a big change for workers making no payments for coverage that can pay 100 percent of the premium for a retiree and 90 percent for their dependents.

During his press conference outlining his new $164.7 billion state spending plan, Gov. Jerry Brown made extensive remarks about Californians living in poverty, and the challenges the state faces in dealing with those who continue to struggle economically.

Gov. Jerry Brown uses a chart to explain his budget a year ago. He presents his first 2015-16 budget Friday. (Randall Benton – Sacramento Bee file)

Gov. Jerry Brown plans to propose a $113.3 billion general fund state budget Friday that holds fast in response to the University of California’s threat to raise tuition unless the state gives the university system more money.

By Joel Fox Editor of Fox & Hounds and President of the Small Business Action Committee Tuesday, January 6th, 2015

Jerry Brown, the adroit political juggler, was on full display during his Inaugural Address/State of the State Speech yesterday keeping in the air at the same time the notion of more spending while also tossing about the importance of fiscal responsibility.

California has been considering a high-speed rail link between L.A. and the Bay Area since Gov. Jerry Brown’s first terms as governor in the late-70s. This week, construction on the $68-billion project gets underway in Fresno. (Associated Press)

By Ralph Vartabedian January 4, 2015

Ground will be broken Tuesday in Fresno on the first 29-mile segment of the $68-billion line

In what has been a futile annual ritual, CalPERS President Rob Feckner sent the governor and Legislature a letter last March urging advance funding of a closed judges pension plan, a change estimated to save $753 million to $2.3 billion in the long run.

Jerry Brown, with his wife, Anne Gust Brown by his side is sworn in by Tani Cantil-Sakauye, Chief Justice of the California State Supreme Court, right, during his inauguration at Memorial Auditorium in 2011.

By Dan Morain dmorain@sacbee.com 12/28/2014 8:38 AM

Amid pomp and self-important speechifying, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, Attorney General Kamala Harris and the other statewide elected officials will take their oaths of office a week from Monday.

Gov. Jerry Brown’s latest California Supreme Court nominee isn’t likely to run into serious resistance at her confirmation hearing next week, but criticism of Leondra Kruger’s residency (out of state) and judicial experience (none) has brought Brown to her defense.

When Gov. Jerry Brown was pushing Proposition 30 in 2012, he sold his measure with the promise that the income and sales tax increases in his measure would put off sharp tuition increases in the UC and CSU systems. Sacramento increased state funding for the University of California and California State University by 5 percent annually for two years, then 4 percent annually for the next two years. Budget documents heralded a four-year deal that would keep tuition flat.

Don’t be surprised next year if Gov. Jerry Brown re-enters the political boxing ring for another around with CalPERS over what kinds of pay can count toward a government retiree’s pension calculations. And don’t be surprised if he loses again.

Whoever replaces Jeff Stone as Riverside County supervisor will help guide spending of a $5 billion budget, oversee a district of roughly 1,100 square miles with a population of more than 400,000 people and have indirect authority over 18,000 county employees.

The position has no term limits, no campaign contribution limits, and it’s rare for a sitting supervisor to be defeated at the polls.

UC Regent Richard Blum confessed that he was “apoplectic” at the Board of Regents meeting Wednesday. The husband of Sen. Dianne Feinstein supports tuition increases as high as 28 percent over five years, which the board approved Thursday. Blum warned that private universities such as Yale and Stanford threaten to poach academic superstars. “In my investment business, if I underpaid my staff as much as the university is underpaid,” said Blum, “I’d have nothing but empty desks.” And: “You’ve got to get real about this stuff.”

Riverside County Supervisor Jeff Stone, who will be sworn in as a state senator Dec. 1. Gov. Jerry Brown will appoint a replacement.

By Jim Miller jmiller@sacbee.com 11/21/2014 2:13 PM

In the nearly four years since he returned to the Governor’s Office, Gov. Jerry Brown has faced few local government antagonists more vocal than Riverside County Supervisor Jeff Stone. Now Brown gets to fill Stone’s seat following the supervisor’s election to the state Senate earlier this month.

The election is over, the Legislature will soon reconvene and interest groups are starting to beat their drums – signals that the Capitol will soon begin its annual spasm of Darwinian combat known as the state budget.

By David Siders and Alexei Koseff dsiders@sacbee.com 11/19/2014 11:17 PM

SAN FRANCISCO — University of California regents moved forward with a controversial plan Wednesday to raise tuition if the state does not give the system more money, with the proposal expected to be finalized Thursday.

The California Supreme Court, which is supposed to have seven justices, has had only six for more than seven months, an interval that may be unprecedented and is at least the longest in a half century. The reason is inaction by Gov. Jerry Brown.

SACRAMENTO — Fresh off winning a historic fourth term as governor, Jerry Brown plans to push ahead with a pair of projects that could transform the California landscape: high-speed rail and delta water tunnels.

Gov. Jerry Brown played down concerns Thursday about Republicans killing the state’s $68-billion bullet train, saying that “they’re going to join the chorus” in support of high-speed rail once construction around Fresno and Bakersfield gains momentum.

Emphasizing what he called the Democratic Party’s commitment to frugal governing, Gov. Jerry Brown downplayed the chances Monday of returning to the voters to renew sales and income tax increases when they expire starting at the end of 2016.

Throughout his political career, Jerry Brown has cultivated an almost monastic image, famously sleeping on a mattress on the floor during his first go-round as governor and flying for peanuts on Southwest during his current term.

SACRAMENTO >> Mandarin Restraint and steady progress don’t necessarily make for catchy political slogans. But a sure-handed approach to managing California’s fiscal recovery is Gov. Jerry Brown’s central pitch to voters as he seeks re-election to an unprecedented fourth term as governor.

Special legislative session would be required to overturn Gov. Brown’s rejection of funding for Eastvale, Jurupa Valley, Menifee and Wildomar.

Published: Oct. 6, 2014 Updated: Oct. 7, 2014 11:21 a.m.

Possibly reviving four Inland cities’ hopes for financial stability, state Sen. Richard Roth, D-Riverside, is seeking to reverse the veto of a bill that would have restored vehicle license fees to Eastvale, Jurupa Valley, Menifee and Wildomar.

Another bill or a lawsuit against the state could be the next moves to get lost revenue restored.

Published: Oct. 3, 2014 Updated: 5:13 p.m.

Jurupa Valley leaders said this week that they will fight to remain a city after Gov. Jerry Brown’s second veto in three years of a bill to restore crucial state funding to Jurupa Valley and Riverside County’s three other new cities of Eastvale, Wildomar and Menifee.

Like Riverside County officials, they may consider a lawsuit against the state.

The ink was barely dry on the governor’s signature to ban plastic bags when foes of his decision filed paperwork with the state attorney general’s office for a referendum in 2016 to overturn the new law.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Despite a series of political scandals that marred the California state Senate this year, Gov. Jerry Brown said Tuesday he had vetoed key ethics bills seeking to place new restrictions on gift giving and campaign spending.

A veto is the latest setback in the effort to restore millions in lost vehicle-license fees to new cities; an override of the veto seem unlikely.

Published: Sept. 29, 2014 Updated: 10:37 p.m.

Gov. Jerry Brown’s veto of a bill to restore up to $19 million to four fledgling Riverside County cities has some Inland officials questioning if politics played a role in the decision that could lead Jurupa Valley to dissolve.

To read story by Jeff Horseman, Sandra Stokley and Michael J. Williams in The Press-Enterprise, click here.

Jurupa Valley’s hopes of getting a budget boost from the state were dashed Sunday when Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a bill that would have restored funding diverted in 2011 from the state’s four newest cities, all of which are in Riverside County.

The Affordable Care Act continues to divide Californians, who remain skeptical four years after its passage despite the state’s relatively smooth launch in which more than 1.2 million people enrolled in health insurance coverage.

A bill to add $35 to fines for traffic violations in school zones sailed through both houses of the Legislature without any opposing votes. The money was earmarked for school safety programs. Who could possibly be against that?

In this May 28, 2014, file photo, Gov. Jerry Brown poses in his Capitol office in Sacramento,Calif. Incumbent Brown faces Republican Neel Kashkari, a former U.S. Treasury official who has never held elective office, in the November election. (Photo: Rich Pedroncelli, Associated Press)

Carla Marinucci Updated 8:42 am, Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Gov. Jerry Brown has $22 million in the bank and a 21-point lead in the polls, but as he seeks a historic fourth term, he’s conducting one of the most unusual re-election campaigns ever witnessed by state voters – one in which he hasn’t starred in a single TV or radio spot, campaign mailer, or Web video.